Andy Blake’s World Unknown parties are legendary; an unbeatable mix of sweaty, convulsing bodies, and the best in thumping Balaeric, house, and techno beats. For the last 20-odd years Tom Gillieron’s work as a producer and DJ has seen him grace the decks of countless classic parties across the globe; from Fabric to the legendary Reverberations warehouse parties.
Now, together, their heading out of the UK and to the idyllic shores of Portugal for a new series of parties called Escape Velocity. The first touching down next week, on 12th November, at Lisbon’s Village Underground venue. To celebrate, Andy’s jumped behind the decks to make us an exclusive mix that’ll take you away from Britain’s cold, grey, climate and get you dreaming of a glorious pan-European future.
What was the idea to do a party outside of the UK?
My wife, Amy and I have been talking about doing something in Lisbon for ages and then we found out our good friends Tom Gillieron and Alice Mary-Low had been thinking the same and we joined forces to make it happen. Tom and I are the resident DJs with Amy and Alice looking after the other aspects of the party environment and lighting up the dancefloor with their radiant smiles.
We’re starting up at Village Underground’s Lisbon home and will hopefully stay here and grow with them. The launch party is a smallish one for 400 people in a really lovely loft space and when we go monthly from next spring we’ll start using the outdoor areas, having multiple rooms of music with our DJ friends from all over the planet joining us as guests and having a few thousand people come thru the doors over 24 hours or longer. In some senses I guess what we’re doing is developing the concept of the Berlin party continuum and transplanting it to pretty much idyllic surroundings.
What made you chose Lisbon as the destination?
It’s full of lovely people, has beautiful architecture, nice vibes, amazing food, wonderful flora and fauna, very good weather. Also, Portugal has, for more than a decade, treated adults like adults, the state has a progressive and sensible approach towards what people put in their bodies. Even if that’s not your bag it’s easy to see the difference in how relaxed people are compared to the stress-out caused by the unsettling prohibition vibes in the UK and other less enlightened countries. I can very easily see us all moving here, it’s a welcoming place for open-minded people
What can we expect from the music on the night?
An emphasis on blending the absolute best in old and new styles into a big dancing wave of sound, and especially lots of new and unreleased jams and gems from all the friends of tom and I who give us their music to play. South London groovers let loose in the Lisbon sunshine
Convince us to book our flights and AirBnBs in fewer than ten words?
Good times, great music, lots of brilliant people having fun together
What can you say about the mix you’ve done for us?
It’s a bunch of house, techno and afro records that hopefully captures at least some of what the Escape Velocity parties will be about.
Find out more information here
Credits
Text Felix Petty